1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a conference system, more specifically, a method of controlling the conference system, a program product, and a storage medium.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, there exists a conference system in which a plurality of conference attendees can easily share information and proceedings. The conference system can be realized by displaying electronic data on a display equipped in a conference room as conference materials. Further, after the conference, the displayed electronic data is often distributed to the conference attendees at their request from the conference organizer.
In addition, with a recent upsurge in security consciousness, setting and managing the access rights to the displayed electronic data need to be considered. In particular, managing the access rights that limit users who view the displayed electric data is considered in addition to the access rights that limits users who access the electronic data itself.
For example, in a case of displaying files prepared as conference materials using a display apparatus such as a projector, a method discussed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-110681 detects users who are around the display device by using their IC cards. Then, attributes of the access right to the displayed file are compared with the access right set for each user to determine whether all of the detected users are allowed to view the displayed file.
As a result, even if there is a single detected user who is not allowed to view the file among the detected users, displaying of the file is canceled. Thus, leakage of confidential information to a user without the access right can be avoided. However, the above-described conventional technique has the following problems.
For example, when some attendees want to bring home the electronic data displayed in the conference, the attendees need to explain to the organizer in details which content of the electronic data they want to bring home, which is a burdensome procedure. In particular, if a lot of electronic data is used as conference materials in a long conference, it is very difficult for attendees to specify desired electronic data after the conference.
Further, from the viewpoint of security, when electronic data including highly-confidential information is used as conference materials, the leakage of the information can be avoided by using the above-described technique discussed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-110681. However, usability may be impaired.
In other words, according to the technique discussed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-110681, if even a single user among the attendees does not have the access right, displaying of data is canceled. As a result, the data cannot be displayed even if the organizer wants to allow the user having no access right to view the data.